Abstract This paper discusses Kurt Vonnegut's motivation behind writing his novel as well as the aspects of war. The paper also directly links the main character of Slaughterhouse-Five to Vonnegut himself. It shows how Vonnegut uses the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, as a mask for himself. From behind this mask, Vonnegut discusses the destructiveness, inevitability, and absurdity of war and also reveals that people should accept the events in their lives and concentrate solely on the positive moments.
From the Paper "The themes of Slaughterhouse-Five do not revolve solely around the institution of war, however. In addition to its war-related themes, acceptance is another major theme that emerges from his novel. Vonnegut reveals this theme in a number of ways. When he twice includes the Serenity prayer in his novel, for example, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference" (209). According to William Bly, Billy Pilgrim finds comfort in the Tralfamadorian belief that people who are dead in one moment are alive and well in many other moments and, Bly further states, that this concept of life can be interpreted as Vonnegut telling his readers that they, too, should be consoled when someone dies, because the dead live on in people's memories (27). The theme of acceptance is further evidenced when Vonnegut writes, after every mention of death in the novel, the phrase, "So it goes" (214). This phrase appears one hundred and six times throughout the novel and gives it a cyclical quality that implies that life goes on. Reflect on the happy moments in life, Vonnegut teaches, and all will be well. "
The paper analyzes the book "Miguel Street" by V. S. Naipaul, a story of the poor people of Trinidad, and how they deal with their poverty with humor and pathos.
Abstract The paper summarizes the content of the book and examines the random and haphazard nature in which the narration is presented. The paper discusses the main thesis of the novel and looks at how the different characters' stories are portrayed in separate sections for each one. It also mentions the humor used in the book, despite the tragic nature of the narrative.
From the Paper ""Miguel Street" is more than just a story about the poor people of Trinidad. It is a story of hope, despair, poverty, and laughter, and one that I enjoyed reading very much. It is the story of distinct individuals who live in destitution, but still have hope for the future. It celebrates the uniqueness of people, along with their daily courage and stubbornness. The narrator escapes from the neighborhood, but as the story reveals, he can never escape his background, and his love for the people of Miguel Street."
Abstract This paper introduces the short story "Barn Burning" by William Faulkner, the story of the Snopes family, poor sharecroppers who struggle along while envying the rich de Spains. Specifically, it contains an analysis of the themes, characters, imagery/symbolism, influence of setting and the author's style. It shows how William Faulkner creates a compelling and moving tale of growth, moral character and southern life.
From the Paper "This is not only the story of a child transforming into a man, it is a classic tale of good and evil, and how difficult it is to choose between the two. Faulkner makes Sarty's choice more difficult by adding the ties of family and "blood," which are clearly so important to Abner. "You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain't going to have any blood to stick to you," he tells Sarty at one point in the story (Faulkner), but Sarty must live with himself and his actions. Faulkner's intent here is clear, sometimes a child must leave the family and strike out on his own. Sometimes a child finds he or she is more moral than their parents are. This is a difficult lesson to learn, but Sarty represents the wisdom of learning it early ? turning his back on what he knows in his own heart is wrong. If Sarty represents good and decent moral behavior, then his father surely represents evil. "
Abstract This paper discusses whether F. Scott Fitzgerald is found to be accurate in his fictional portrayal of prohibition, gangsters, the American Dream and new women of the 1920s. By examining various aspects in the novel, this paper compares the reality of the 1920's, to the way it is described in "The Great Gatsby" and examines its accuracy.
From the Paper "F. Scott Fitzgerald was accurate in his portrayal of the aristocratic flamboyancy and indifference of the 1920s. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores many aspects of indifference and flamboyancy. A large influence on this society was the pursuit of the American Dream. Gangsters played a heavily influential role in the new money aristocracy of the 1920s. The indifference was mainly due to the advent of Prohibition in 1920. One major societal revolution in this period was that of the ?new women,? who expressed new actions and beliefs. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald accurately portrayed his characters Nick Carraway, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and the novel's eponym, Jay Gatsby, as a part of the society of the 1920s."
Abstract This paper reviews the novel ?Tracks" by Louise Erdich, which chronicles the lives of Ojibwa people living in North Dakota between the winter of 1912 and the spring of 1924. The challenges of becoming a member of a mixed society are many and within the novel "Tracks" can be seen the assumed realities of the changing world of the Chippewa people. The paper focuses on the lives of the Chippewa people and their interaction with mainstream America at the time.
From the Paper "Rather early in the post-colonial phase, ?Tracks chronicles the lives of Ojibwa people living in North Dakota between the winter of 1912 and the spring of 1924.? (Stookey 1999) Scholarship on the issue of colonial native America has recently headed toward the interdisciplinary approach and has learned to embrace narrative fiction. ?The elements of a sound Native American history would include an interdisciplinary perspective, reconstruction of the American Indian experience, and a more complete description of how Native societies adapted to changing conditions."
Abstract In his memoir of the Vietnam War entitled "A Rumor of War", Phillip Caputo his experience as an ordinary soldier in Vietnam in explicit and vivid terms. He does so without any romanticism or any sense of higher purpose about the United States' goals in the conflict. The paper shows that, rather, Caputo writes to deflate those who might feel such romanticism about war. The paper discusses his use of dividing the book into three sections to portray his evolvement from naive, idealistic soldier to one who returns home feeling as if he has aged sixteen years.
From the Paper "During the second section, however, Caputo says he did try feeling some dignity in what he did, but a philosophical intelligence had intruded upon his consciousness that caused him to question things, even while he was committing misjudgments. "Whatever the rights and wrongs of the war, nothing can diminish the rightness of what you tried to do,? he reminded himself after his friend died. However, the gross reality of the battlefield inevitably intruded."
Abstract This paper looks at Renee Descartes' approach to the question, is mind the same thing as body and if yes, how and if no, why not? It summarizes the arguments Descartes presented in support of his views and offers opposing opinions to each of Descartes' arguments.
From the Paper "The discussion over the relationship between mind and body that has been intriguing philosophers for a long time is divided into two broad categories: dualism and monism. According to dualism mind and body are two separate substances. There are several types of dualist views including parallelism, epiphenomenalism, occassionalism and interactionism. John Locke and Rene Descartes are among those who laid the foundation of this idea. Whereas Locke and Descartes believed in Dualism, there were other famous philosophers and thinkers who supported monism. Monism refers to the theory that mind and body are inseparable and thus one is influenced by the other."
Abstract This paper describes how John Fante uses the characters in his novel "Ask the Dust" to convey the inferiority complex common to many new immigrants. It looks at the immigrant culture portrayed in the novel and the impact this culture had on the development of Californian culture.
From the Paper "John Fante's Ask the Dust is regarded as one of the most successful novels of the 20th century with its theme grounded in immigration and myth of American dream. The novel is not exactly negative in tone instead it simply focuses on realistically presenting the life of immigrants in Los Angeles community of 1930s. The author has beautifully recreated the early times of massive immigration to the Golden State where people of many communities settled down in the hope of building and carving a more positive future for themselves than the one they would have been accorded in their native lands. After reading the novel, it appears that the most important theme of the novel is "struggle of immigrants to become an American by degrading others"."
Abstract Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums" can be read as a feminist diatribe against women's commonly misplaced self-worth. The paper discusses critics who hold this view, and how it comes through in the story itself. Feminist interpretations of Steinbeck rely on a dualism that puts woman away from the labor of the land, but closer to the purity of art and society. This is an artifact of the era in which Steinbeck wrote, but also provides the inner conflict for the character of Elisa in the short story.
Abstract This paper reports that the book is about the moral heroism of this small town called Chambon-sur-Lignon during the German occupation of France"when Jews were being extinguished by the Nazi genocide machine. The author describes that the people in this town saved the lives of thousands of Jewish refugees. The paperr expresses that even in the midst of such human cruelty, Hallie shows that there was still the light of goodness in many humans' hearts; but, throughout the book, he struggles with the dilemma over whether good can prevail over such tremendous evil.
Abstract This essay will argue that Bell's thesis is that personal choices and not the determinism of historical forces led to the Second World War. In particular, as will be seen, Bell focuses on the personal choices made by one: Adolf Hitler. He contends that German policies of aggression and expansion that ultimately caused the war were shaped more by the personality of one man than by any broader mix of social forces or national interests.
Abstract This paper analyzes the place of women in Rudyard Kipling's novel "Kim". It will start off with a brief introduction about Kipling himself and will then move on to identify the role that women have according to the novel.
Abstract This paper analyzes the book by Ginzburg. The writer offers a critique of the fact that Ginzburg wrote a book with great insight but in actuality the book is based on more assumptions than fact.
Abstract This paper serves to be a coherent analysis of Musui's Story, The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai. This paper will focus on the issues presented in the work and analyze the truths presented. This paper will also discuss life and culture in Japan.
Abstract This paper explores the text of R.K. Narayan's telling of "The Ramayana" in relation to the human qualities in the characters of Rama and Ravana. Rama is explored as embodying all of the positive human qualities, while the demon-king Ravana exemplifies all negative human qualities.
